Pak Ta
Production Company: Ilyushin
Feature: 80-Ton Cargo Capacity
EST. Cost of Production: $3.35 million per unit*
The Pak Ta, also known as the Ilyushin Il-106 Slon, was designed as a next-generation Russian military transport jet. Ilyushin is now working on the Pak Ta, which is expected to make its first flight between 2024 and 2026. The Pak Ta will be able to refuel while in flight and transport up to eighty tons of cargo for thousands of miles. The Pak Ta will be powered by four Aviadvigatel PD-35 engines, which are enhanced versions of the PD-14 engines that are still in development. The Pak Ta’s study phase completed in December 2020, and it is presently being built.
Pak Ta
RQ-180
Production Company: Northrop Grumman
Feature: UAV Surveillance Craft for Contested Airspace
EST. Cost of Production: Unknown (Classified)
For a long, it was debatable whether or not the RQ-180 was real. Fortunately for aficionados of hardcore aviation projects, the RQ-180 appears to exist and is quite cool. The RQ-180 was funded by the US Air Force’s top-secret, classified budget. Northrop Grumman was entrusted with building a new front-line vehicle. The RQ-180 is an unmanned aerial vehicle made of steel. The surveillance plane is designed to operate in contested airspace. The RQ-180 was still under wraps in 2019, but there is emerging evidence that it is being developed at the Beale Air Force Base in California.
RQ 180
